How do you build operational resilience within your organisation?
As we are living through an age of volatility, we know one thing for sure: this crisis is not the same as the previous one. The impact across industries is also fluctuating a lot. The growing disruption leads to a complex environment especially in Europe. Therefore, it is impossible to manage it in the same way. The last remotely comparable moment was the energy crisis of the early 1970s.
So, leadership needs to decide where to focus for the coming 6 months and beyond. It is a defining moment. In a recent conversion that we had with one of our clients, they asked us, ‘What do winning organisations do from an operational perspective?’ Our answer: they skip old rules and adopt an operational efficiency mindset to create resilience. How is our workforce organised? What is the demand of our clients? How do we align our operating model to this demand given the volatile circumstances?
To find operational opportunities, it is essential to have a clear picture of your demand, production schedule and purchasing processes. Production stability, supply chain management, quality standards and a flexible production schedule are key levers to focus on. Typical signals that indicate that you need to make bold operational changes are a high work-in-process and finished good stock, obviously. But when customer churn is increasing or your OTIF decreases, it is important to focus on delivery. As you work on creating a stable basis, you want to accelerate your growth opportunities to vanquish the upcoming recession.
Resilient organisations play defence and offence simultaneously.
